Category: NASCAR Cup PR

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
ALSCO UNIFORMS 500K
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES
THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2020

FORD FINISHING RESULTS
3rd – Ryan Blaney
6th – Joey Logano
7th – Brad Keselowski
10th – Kevin Harvick
13th – John Hunter Nemechek
15th – Matt DiBenedetto
16th – Clint Bowyer
17th – Ryan Newman
18th – Cole Custer
19th – Corey LaJoie
20th – Aric Almirola
22nd – Chris Buescher
25th – Michael McDowell
30th – Gray Gaulding
35th – BJ McLeod
39th – Joey Gase

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang — “It just falls off after lap 30. We knew that’s what we had with our Busch Light Ford and it went straight 60-some laps. They did a really good job turning the car around. It was the total opposite of what we raced last Sunday, so it was a good test session for us. We just didn’t need a long run.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 BODYARMOR Ford Mustang — “We got to second and the 4 was really fast getting going and the 9 got by me. I kind of messed up three and four and allowed him to get by me. I kind of thought I was equal with him when we were both running the 4 down and I just got tight. I was a little bit free all night and we tightened it up just a touch for that last run, and it was the longest run we had, and we just kind of burned the right-front off of it and couldn’t stay with the 9 there late in the run, and then the 11 got by me. Overall, not a bad day for our BODYARMOR Ford Mustang. We had two solid races here at Charlotte. We just need to find a little bit more speed, but we’re right there. I’m really proud of this team.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang — “It wasn’t our prettiest day, but, all in all, we were decent. We had a lot of speed in our car, not as much as maybe the 9 car. He was lights-out fast today, but we had enough to, I think, run in the top three or four. We had a little bit of contact early on and got a flat tire that did a lot of damage to the car, and we recovered and I got contact again and had a lot of damage to the car, but came back in to fix it. There at the end we started to recover. I think we drove up to seventh to finish the race, but it’s kind of not my strongest day. I was pushing a little bit too hard starting in the back and got us behind with damage a little bit early and had to kind of fight through it in a short race. We did the best we could to recover, but didn’t have enough laps and I put us in too big of a hole.”

COMPARING TONIGHT TO THE COCA-COLA 600 IS THERE A PHYSICAL STRAIN THAT’S DIFFERENT FROM THIS RACE COMPARED TO SUNDAY? “It feels like I just played one half of a game, rather than a full game. It’s a lot easier, for sure, but I also kind of like this format a lot. I think it makes sense. I think it makes sense to have long races on weekends and kind of shorter races, disregarding the weather, during the week. I really like the format NASCAR has here. It’s a good give-and-take. It doesn’t just completely destroy your body, so I think NASCAR has really hit something here. I couldn’t see the front, but it seemed like it was pretty racy there at the end for the win, and I think that’s always a good thing as well.”

YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT MIDWEEK RACES FOR SOME TIME. DO YOU THINK THIS EXPERIENCE CAN LAY A BLUEPRINT FOR NASCAR AND HOW THEY SCHEDULE FROM NOW? “Oh yeah, I think absolutely. NASCAR, in my opinion, has hit gold with this format. The limited practice, show up and race, and the time window that benefits both the east and west coast. No qualifying. Inversion from the week before is really good because it mixes the field up and creates some good storylines there. I think it’s fair. It’s compelling and it’s at a time where, quite frankly, the sports world, even if it wasn’t for COVID, midweek races in the summer, when you’re generally not having a lot of competition, is in a time period where everybody is hungry for content. I think they’ve got gold here. COVID or not, I hope we keep this for years to come. I think this is a great little format that’s good for the sport and good for the fans and good for everybody all around, so kudos to them.”

WHEN YOU SAY KEEP THE FORMAT DO YOU MEAN KEEP LIMITED PRACTICE AND NO QUALIFYING AS OPPOSED TO DOING A TRADITIONAL RACE WEEKEND? “Yeah, absolutely. We don’t need a whole bunch of practice and qualifying for midweek races. I think maybe one short practice and that’s about it. I would be really cool with that and I think it would be great for our sport.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang — “We had a solid to okay day. Solid to start and okay to finish. We started off with some good track position on the initial start and then had the opportunity to stay out, which we were able to grab a stage win and get another playoff point for the second week in a row, which is nice. We had a decent second stage and finished third, and then had two mediocre restarts that kind of put me back in the sixth or seventh place range. It was just impossible to pass. It’s so hard to pass. I rode behind the 1, which I was better than, but could not get to him. I was waiting for him to make a mistake, but he’s too good to make a mistake, so I rode around and waited and waited and waited. I needed a caution to have the opportunity to have a restart and a pit stop, but in this racing you just run hard, you try to get everything you can on restarts. Details mean so much. We’re detail racing for sure and after that you hope that maybe there’s a car like the 4 that is fast and falls off, and there might be one or two cars that you might get on the long haul, possibly, but it’s tough at a track that’s just not wide enough.”

HAMLIN DRIVES TO RUNNER-UP FINISH AT CHARLOTTE
Truex Jr. Joins Hamlin as Top-10 Finishers for Toyota

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (May 28, 2020) – Denny Hamlin (second) was the highest-finishing Camry in the Alsco Uniforms 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday evening.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Race 8 of 36 – 312 miles, 208 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chase Elliott*
2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
3rd, Ryan Blaney*
4th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
5th, Kurt Busch*
9th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
21st, CHRISTOPHER BELL
26th, ERIK JONES
28th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
29th, KYLE BUSCH
33rd, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx #SupportSmall Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

How were you able to pull off the second-place finish tonight?

“Eventually the air pressure built up enough to where it got off the race track. The pit crew just did a phenomenal job picking up a bunch of spots. Our whole FedEx team prepared a good car. Every time we come back to a race track for the second time, our results are really, really good. We’re making good adjustments, I had a really good Camry, just needed to be a little better in the short run there.”

Did you have a chance for the win after restarting second?

“We started up front there when the pit crew got us out second there and ideally we would have stayed in front. I knew the 4 (Kevin Harvick), his car typically drops like a rock in the long run. We made a good run at it, but it was just too late.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

How challenging was the handling in your car throughout the race and how were you able to battle to a top-10 finish?

“It was quite a battle. We started the race and made a few little changes to try to be better. We tried to figure out what we needed to be a little better than the other night and we started the race and we were just crazy loose. Honestly, that’s really the whole story. It was undrivable sideways for the first two stages and we just kept taking big swings at it. Finally, I fired off for that long run in the third stage and the Bass Pro Shops Camry was pretty good. We started passing cars and making up some ground. We just continued to chug our way forward the whole time. We never gave up on it, we worked hard and salvaged something. I think we’re all a little baffled on how we could have been that far off after how good we were Sunday. We definitely need to go back to the shop and figure some things out.”

Are you looking forward to getting to Bristol with hopefully an improved weather forecast?

“Hopefully no rain. I’m about sick of getting in and out of that car and watching the radar. Sitting there thinking, ‘well we were going to go and now we’re not going.’ Then drive home, come back. We just haven’t been able to catch a break. Hopefully, all the bad luck is out of the way as far as that’s concerned and we can go have us a good race at Bristol.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Race: Alsco Uniforms 500
Date: May 28, 2020

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No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Start: 20th
Stage 1: 25th
Stage 2: 27th
Finish: 7th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 208/208
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (behind first): 5th (-66)

Notes:

Brad Keselowski overcame early right-front damage to the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang resulting from a cut tire to score a “Keselowski-esque” seventh-place finish in Thursday night’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

By virtue of winning the Coca-Cola 600 last Sunday, Keselowski was rewarded with the 20th starting position following the series invert. While in the middle of the pack at the start of the race, the 2012 Cup Series champion made contact with another competitor that resulted in a cut tire and contact with the outside wall just before a red flag was displayed for inclement weather at lap 30.

After making repairs and restarting from his lowest-running position of 36th, Keselowski and crew chief Jeremy Bullins methodically worked their way through the field, eventually entering the top 10 by electing to stay out under a lap-74 caution period in Stage 2.

Unfortunately, the handling deteriorated during the second stage and Keselowski fell back through the field to the 27th position at stage end. He radioed to Bullins that more repairs were needed to the right side of his Discount Tire Ford.

With the repairs made prior to the start of the final stage, Keselowski was prepared to gash his way through the field. Few cars had better speed in the final stage, and thanks to a great pit stop by the No. 2 crew on a lap 44 caution, Keselowski made it back inside the top 10 by lap 150. He would remain there the rest of the way, eventually crossing the finish line in the seventh position for his sixth top-10 finish of the 2020 season. He remains fifth in the Championship point standings, 66 points behind the leader Kevin Harvick.

Quote: “Compared to Sunday’s race, the feeling I have after this one is like I played only half of a game instead of the full game. I also like this format a lot. We should have longer races on the weekend and shorter races – minus the weather delay – during the week. No practice and no qualifying, inverting the field from the week before provides some compelling storylines. I think NASCAR has struck gold with this format and I hope they keep it for years to come.”

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No. 12 BODYARMOR Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 18th
Stage 1: 2nd
Stage 2: 2nd
Finish: 3rd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 208/208
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (Behind First): 6th (-67)

Ryan Blaney capped off a strong night with a third-place finish in Thursday night’s 500k NASCAR Cup Series event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in No. 12 BODYARMOR Ford Mustang. This was the High Point, NC native’s second-consecutive third-place finish, including last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.

Blaney started 18th and within the first 20 laps of the race worked his way up to 11th. During a lap-20 competition caution, Blaney and crew chief Todd Gordon opted to stay out for track position. Following a short delay for inclement weather, Blaney would fall back to third but managed to work his way back to second before the conclusion of Stage 1.
From there, Blaney would be a constant fixture inside the top-five. After briefly falling back, Blaney would work his way around teammate Joey Logano for second position on lap 90 and hold on to second when Stage 2 came to a close. Under the stage break, Blaney pitted for four tires and a slight air pressure adjustment.

The No. 12 team would begin the final stage from the fifth position following another round of pit stops. Blaney made short work to the front and drove the BODARMOR Ford up to second by lap 140.
After restarting fourth, he would work his way to the runner-up position behind leader and eventual race winner, Chase Elliott. Try as he might, Blaney was not able to catch Elliott and lost the second spot on the final lap to come home in the third position. Blaney is now sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 67 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Quote: “We got to second and the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) was really fast getting going and the No. 9 got by me. I kind of thought I was equal with him when we were both running the No. 4 down and I just got tight. I was a little bit free all night and we tightened it up just a touch for that last run, and it was the longest run we had, and we just kind of burned the right-front tire off of it and couldn’t stay with the No. 9 there late in the run, and then the 11 (Denny Hamlin) got by me. Overall, not a bad day for our BODYARMOR Ford Mustang. We had two solid races here at Charlotte. We just need to find a little bit more speed, but we are right there. I’m really proud of this team.”

____________________________________

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 8th
Stage 1: 1st – Second stage win of 2020
Stage 2: 3rd
Finish: 6th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 208/208
Laps Led: 42
Point Standings (Behind First): 2nd (-14)

Notes:

Joey Logano started eighth and finished sixth in Thursday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was a strong effort for Logano, who led 42 laps on the night and won Stage 1, his second stage win of the season. Logano maintained position inside the top-10 throughout the race with considerable time spent in the top-five, ultimately battling a tight handling Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang in the closing laps and finishing sixth.

On the initial start of the race, Logano charged to fourth before the caution flag was displayed on the opening lap. When the race resumed, Logano reported the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang was slightly tight in the top-groove. With teams electing to pit at the competition caution, crew chief Paul Wolfe elected to leave Logano on the track to claim the lead. After a 75-minute stoppage due to rain, Logano maintained the lead as the race resumed and went on to win his second stage in the last two races.

Logano would lead the field to green to begin Stage 2, but fell to third before a lap-73 caution flag. Logano reported he was a little tight and only needed a small adjustment, but was lacking overall straightaway speed. Logano maintained the third position until the completion of Stage 2 while battling a vibration he described as a “five out of 10.”
At the beginning of the final stage, Logano settled into the fifth position before moving up to fourth when the No. 88 had to make an unscheduled stop. Logano remained too tight over the long run to the checkered flag, ultimately bringing the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang home in the sixth position.

Quote: “We had a good-to-okay day. We were able to get some track position early and win the stage. A couple of restarts really set me back some and then it was pretty tough to pass once we got running. The track wasn’t really wide enough to be able to make a lot of gains on the long run, unless another car was really falling off drastically.”

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 1.5 Mile Oval
Race: 8 of 38
Event: Alsco Uniforms 500 (312 miles, 208 laps)

John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang

Started: 5th
Finished: 13th

Stage One: 24th
Stage Two: 8th
Stage Three: 13th

A top-20 finish in Sunday’s race and an invert to start Thursday’s event saw John Hunter Nemechek take the green flag in 5th place for the “Alsco Uniforms 500.” Not long after, he radioed an issue with a part coming loose on his No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang. He pitted during the Competition Caution on Lap 20 to take 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment, in addition to having the crew fix the loose part. Lightning was reported in the area shortly afterwards and the race came to a red flag pause for just over an hour. Once the cars refired, Nemechek indicated his car’s handling was still tight, finishing Stage 1 in the 24th position.

Stage 2 started off tight for Nemechek’s Scag Power Equipment machine. The crew made some adjustments to the track bar and Nemechek fought his way up into the top 10 towards the end of the stage. He would pass fellow Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year Contender Christopher Bell to finish P8 in Stage 2, earning stage points for the first time this season.

An issue on pit road took Nemechek out of the top 10 to start the final stage. He noted over the radio that the track had gotten freer as the night progressed and his No. 38 Ford needed to tighten up a tick. The Scag Power Equipment crew made some slight air pressure adjustments in later pit stops, and Nemechek continued to find speed on track. He would cross the finish line in 13th place and earn the Sunoco Rookie of the Race award.

Nemechek on Charlotte:

“Overall, it was a solid night for our No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang. I’m worn out… It was a hard-fought night. We had to overcome a couple of mistakes and we weren’t great in traffic, but we never gave up. Seth [Barbour] and the crew did a really good job of tuning her up and making improvements so we could find some speed. We were able to bring home another top-15 finish for our Front Row Motorsports team. Thank you to our partners at Scag for your support and coming on board with us. I’m looking forward to heading to Bristol on Sunday.”

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 1.5 Mile Oval
Race: 8 of 38
Event: Alsco Uniforms 500 (312 miles, 208 laps)

Michael McDowell
No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang

Started: 3rd
Finished: 25th

Stage One: 13th
Stage Two: 25th
Stage Three: 25th

Michael McDowell and his No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang took Thursday’s rain delayed “Alsco Uniforms 500″ from the 3rd position. The CarParts.com Ford ran strong inside of the top-10 for nearly all of Stage 1 before McDowell noted that his race car began to tighten up on entry into the corners. McDowell would go on to finish Stage 1 in the 13th position. Under the Stage 1 caution, Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer made the call for 4 tires plus an air pressure and wedge adjustment.

During Stage 2, McDowell ran competitively inside of the top-20 through the first half of the stage before once again mentioning that his No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang had a tough time on entry into the corners and would finish Stage 2 from the 25th position. On pit road, the No. 34 team did a good job of hustling to change 4 tires, add fuel and grille tape, and make both packer and spring rubber adjustments.

Taking the green flag in Stage 3, Michael McDowell continued to battle a tight No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang. Again, Drew Blickensderfer and the No. 34 team did a nice job of making multiple adjustments on pit road to try and better their race car. Unfortunately, McDowell ran out of time to make a charge towards the front, taking the checkered flag 25th at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

McDowell on Charlotte:

“It was an up and down night at Charlotte Motor Speedway for our No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang. We fired off extremely well and ran competitively inside of the top-10 for the majority of Stage 1. However as daylight faded and the track temperature began to change, our race car started to tighten up on entry into the corners, making it tough to carry speed through the turns; something we battled all night long. Drew and my guys fought hard on pit road to make multiple adjustments on our No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang, but we just ran out of time at the end. I have to thank CarParts.com for coming on board our No. 34 Ford Mustang tonight at Charlotte. They’ve been a great partner of Front Row Motorsports and I hope to have them back on our No. 34 car later this season.”

CONCORD, N.C. (May 28, 2020) – After earning a valuable stage point by finishing 10th in the first stage of racing Thursday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chris Buescher and the No. 17 Fastenal team battled a tight handling car to a 22nd -place finish in the second race at the 1.5-mile track this week.

The team got off to a fast start, rolling off the grid 11th and holding position through the first caution of the race on lap one. At lap 29, another caution flag flew for lightning in the area and the team came down pit road for a 75-minute red flag delay. When the caution flag was displayed again, the No. 17 team elected to stay out to maintain track position. By Lap 39, Buescher was scored 10th and held on to that position through the green-white-checkered flag for stage one, earning the stage point.

The No. 17 crew had an outstanding pit stop, gaining three positions on pit road resulting in Buescher’s seventh-place restart for stage two. At lap 72, Buescher was running 11th as a caution flag waved; the team pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustment to loosen up the Fastenal Ford taking it back on track in 19th. A competitor car stalled in front of Buescher at the restart, causing the team to lose several positions, and he ultimately finished stage two, 21st with reports of a tight Ford.

Buescher took the green flag for the final stage of racing in 21st. The No. 17 team worked all stage to loosen up the No. 17 Ford, but ran out of time. During the only caution of the stage, the team pitted for a track bar adjustment, four tires and fuel. After restarting 19th, Buescher held onto his track position as long as possible, before ultimately taken the checkered flag 22nd.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway, Sunday May 31 for a 500-lap event, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90). 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 28, 2020) – Track position proved to be the key to the race, as Ryan Newman drove his No. 6 Roush Performance Ford to a 17th -place finish in Thursday night’s 208-lap race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Originally scheduled to be run on Wednesday, Newman started 27th based off his finish in Sunday’s Coke 600. The 310-mile event was again affected by weather just after the green flag dropped, causing an hour-plus lightning and rain delay.

With a competition caution at lap 20, Newman was 24th and reporting the balance was nearly dialed in aboard his Roush Performance machine. The red flag was displayed a few laps later at lap 30, in what resulted in a delay of 75 minutes.

Once track-drying efforts were complete, Newman fired off 20th for the restart at lap 24, the same position he would end the stage in by lap 55. Following service on pit road, he restarted 19th for stage two.

Newman received a tire rub on the left rear on the ensuing restart that would last for several laps, before the yellow came back out at lap 73. With the top-15 cars staying out under the yellow, Newman fired off 24th at lap 78, and powered his way to 16th by lap 84, before going on to finish the stage in 23rd.

After starting the final stage in 15th, the handling unfortunately went away aboard Newman’s machine as the race ran caution-free and he crossed the line 17th.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway for 500 laps at ‘The World’s Fastest Half Mile.’ Race coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.

JDog Brands and Enlisted Nine Fight Company have teamed up to serve as co-primary sponsors of the Go Fas Racing Ford at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend for the Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500.

Enlisted Nine will be on the hood and JDog Brands will be on the sides of driver Corey LaJoie’s aviation-themed No. 32 Mustang for 266 thrilling miles around “The Last Great Colosseum.” The paint scheme is inspired by World War II Triple Ace Bud Anderson’s P-51 Mustang.

Enlisted Nine is an active-duty-owned lifestyle brand founded in 2013 by two Senior NCO’s and a military spouse. The trio embarked on the arduous task of developing a lifestyle brand that would not only give veterans, their families, and patriotic Americans a way to express their love for our armed forces, country, and fighting, but also provide an affordable, high quality product in doing so.

“Enlisted Nine Fight Company is proud to partner with JDog brands on the Go Fas Racing No. 32. Both of our veteran-owned companies provide veteran outreach and job placement for our veterans,” said CSM (R) Dan O’Brien. “We look forward to a great race at ‘The Last Great Colosseum,’ Bristol Motor Speedway. It’s always exciting to race for our veterans. They deserve to have a veteran-owned team to pull for. I’m proud to sponsor the No. 32 team.”

JDog Brands is the parent company of the JDog Junk Removal & Hauling and JDog Carpet Cleaning – franchises for veterans and military family members. JDog Junk Removal & Hauling offers junk removal and hauling services for residential and commercial customers. JDog Carpet Cleaning offers carpet, tile, and hardwood cleaning services for residential and commercial customers.

“At JDog Brands, we’re continuously looking for opportunities to highlight the American spirit, values, and patriotism,” said Jerry Flanagan, founder and CEO of JDog Brands. “As a veteran-owned and operated company, showcasing these qualities is key to supporting our mission, our community, and our franchise owners. We believe NASCAR thoroughly embodies each, and we’re proud to be a sponsor alongside Enlisted Nine.”

The Enlisted Nine Fight Company/JDog Brands Ford Mustang will hit the track on Sunday, May 31 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1 from Bristol Motor Speedway.

For more information on Enlisted Nine Fight Company, visit NineLineApparel.com. To learn more about JDog Brands, visit JDogBrands.com.

————————————————————–
About Our Team

About Enlisted Nine Fight Company:
Enlisted Nine Fight Company is an active-duty-owned clothing brand. It was founded in 2013 by two Senior NCO’s and a military spouse. The trio embarked on the arduous task of developing a lifestyle brand that would not only give veterans, their families, and patriotic Americans a way to express their love for our Armed Forces, Country, and fighting, but also provide an affordable, high quality product in doing so.

From humble beginnings selling apparel from the trunk of their car – all the way to a long-term partnership with Nine Line Apparel – the team has truly created their version of the American Dream. Although they remain rather reticent about it, the company’s philanthropic spirit is evident with all of the support they provide to the veteran and local communities. With over 50 years of combined active duty service and military community outreach, Enlisted Nine Fight Company applies the same core values they have carried throughout their lives, into their brand. As a Gold Star owned business, Enlisted Nine Fight Company has vowed to always represent our fallen service members with distinction, and continue celebrating the lives they lived!

About JDog Brands:
JDog Brands is the umbrella for an array of home and commercial services franchise organizations owned and operated by Veterans and Military family members. Its first two companies are JDog Junk Removal & Hauling and JDog Carpet Cleaning. Over the next 10 years, JDog Brands will open at least 500 new franchises nationwide. For more information, visit www.jdogbrands.com.

About Go Fas Racing:
Go Fas Racing (GFR) currently fields Ford Mustangs in the NASCAR Cup Series for driver Corey LaJoie. Located in Mooresville, North Carolina, GFR has competed in the NASCAR’s premier series since 2014; fielding cars for some of NASCAR’s top drivers, including past champions. To find out more information about our team please visit www.GoFasRacing.com.

Stay up-to-date on Corey LaJoie:
To get live updates during the race weekends follow @coreylajoie on Instagram and Twitter. Make sure to give Corey a “like” on Facebook – “@CoreyLaJoieRacing”. For a detailed bio and updated in-season statistics, please visit www.coreylajoieracing.com.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
ALSCO UNIFORMS 500
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA
MAY 27, 2020

ROUND TWO AT CHARLOTTE:
The NASCAR Cup Series continues its quest of five Cup races in a 14-day span with a return trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Wednesday evening, May 27th, at 8:00 p.m. ET with the Alsco Uniforms 500. The event under the lights at the 1.5-mile North Carolina oval will be the series’ second mid-week race in 36 years as NASCAR continues with its revised schedule.

BOWTIE BULLETS:
· Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 45 all-time wins in NASCAR’s premier division at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

· Following Kurt Busch’s recent pole in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, a Chevrolet has sat on the pole 34 times at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

· To-date, Chevrolet has scored 206 top-five’s, 415 top-10’s and has led 14,128 laps around the North Carolina oval in NASCAR Cup Series events.

· Career-Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson, piloting the No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads the series in wins with eight victories at the oval (2003 summer, sweep in 2004, sweep in 2005, 2009 playoffs race, 2014 summer, and 2016 playoffs race). He also leads all active drivers in top-five finishes at Charlotte, totaling 16 in his career.

· Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway by taking Chevrolet to victory lane 19 times.

TEAM CHEVY FRONT ROW:
With no qualifying to set the field, the starting lineup for Wednesday’s race is based on the finishing result’s from Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600.

Starting positions 1 through 20 will be set by an inversion of the top-20 finishers in the May 24th event, putting William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE, in the pole position. Hendrick Motorsport’s teammate, Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/NOCO Camaro ZL1 1LE, will start alongside Byron to make up the front row. This is the third time this season that a pair of Camaro ZL1 1LE’s takeover the front row starting spots and will lead the field to the green.

The starting order for the remainder of the 40-car field reflect the finishing positions of the Coca-Cola 600.

IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR
Leading into race #8 of the season at Charlotte, Team Chevy has 1 win, 3 poles, 733-laps led and two drivers in the top-five in the points standings. Hendrick Motorsport’s Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/NOCO Camaro ZL1 1LE, currently sits third in points standings, with one victory to secure his spot in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Thus far this season, Bowman has three stage wins and has led 318 laps, the most in a single season in his NASCAR career. Accompanied by his teammate, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1 1LE, is fourth in the points standings. In seven-point races, Elliott has captured an impressive three top-five and four top-10 finishes.

Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Okuma Camaro ZL1 1LE, has taken his rookie year by storm. Currently leading the rookie standings, Reddick has scored two top-10 finishes in the last three races and leads the NASCAR Cup Series in green flag passes with a total of 844.

TUNE-IN:
In compliance with the pandemic guidelines, the Alsco Uniforms 500 will run without spectators, but you can view the live competition on Wednesday, May 27th, at 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1. Live coverage of the 208-lap, 312-mile race can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/NOCO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 3rd IN STANDINGS
“We were strong on Sunday and don’t have the finish to show that. This ChevyGoods.com/NOCO team has put together some fast cars this season and I know that what we unload on Wednesday will be just as good. We have a notebook from Sunday’s race and hopefully we can go back out and put on a good show for everyone at home.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 4th IN STANDINGS
“The last two weeks have been really tough. I feel like we have put ourselves in really good positions as a team, we’ve made good decisions and we’ve made good adjustments on the cars throughout these races. Those are things you don’t always get right. I think that’s what is frustrating to me, it’s a hard thing to make all the right moves, the right decisions and get the car driving exactly like you want it. When you have those days, those type of runs and those type of cars you want to make the most of it. I think that’s where the frustration is the worst for me, knowing that stuff isn’t forever. It’s not something you get right all the time. We’ve had two opportunities get away. I think that’s the hard thing to swallow. The silver lining is we’ve been running well and that’s encouraging, we’ve just got to keep doing it. It’s still early in the season.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGS
“The track should be pretty consistent to what we experienced during the 600 with that race being largely run at night. I’m looking forward to being able to build on the setup we had and the foundation we built during the 600. I thought it was a pretty decent starting spot to build off of, and if we make a few minor tweaks we’ll be even better. I also think starting up front will be a great asset. We saw in the 600 that clean air was so important, so this will be our chance to have it and remain up front hopefully. I’m really looking forward to it and I think it’s going to be a really good race based on the racing we’ve seen there the last couple days.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 20th IN STANDINGS
“Charlotte Motor Speedway round two coming-up. It’s redemption time for Richard Petty Motorsports. Looking at our debrief data from Sunday, we know we brought a really fast Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the track. Our Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 United States Air Force (USAF) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was pretty decent all night until we ended-up having some bad luck with things that were out of our control. I have faith in our team to button everything up and bring another brand-new, fast Chevrolet to go out and compete in Wednesday’s Alsco Uniforms 500. We’ll go out and give it our all, and come back with a couple of changes to get through Turn Three and Four, that was our struggle point. All-in-all, we’re still hitting on some really good notes right now and continuing to build on that momentum. We’ll see what we’ve got!”

JERRY BAXTER, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLGOY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
“We have a brand new Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 World Wide Technology (WWT) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Wednesday’s Alsco Uniforms 500 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.”
“In Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600, our team showed some good speed. Everything was rolling along, and we ended-up having a parts failure. The new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Wednesday – we will take what we learned, and we’ll go on and hopefully run as good as we did at the second Darlington (S.C.) Raceway race.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 24th IN STANDINGS
“It’s so great to be back on a normal cadence of racing. I thought the Coca-Cola 600 went alright for us. We had good speed at the beginning of the race, but had a left rear wheel loose that forced us to pit early and we got caught a couple laps down. The cautions just didn’t fall our way to be able and get our laps back. While the 600 is unique in terms of it being the longest race of the year, I think it gave us some good momentum and notes that we can build on for Wednesday night’s race – which is essentially half the distance as Sunday. It took a little bit longer than I think we were going to for that top groove to come in, but I think with the Xfinity Series and Truck Series races this week, it’ll really help rubber the track up and give us a few more lane options. I like racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway and think we can really put a solid race together in our Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE on Wednesday.”

RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 30th IN STANDINGS
“I’m very curious to see how the shorter race will play out on Wednesday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. We didn’t start out the Coca-Cola 600 where we wanted to in terms of our setup and handling, but as the race went on Trent (Owens, crew chief) made some really good adjustments and I felt like we had a car that should have been contending at the front as the race went on. We pit just about two laps too early in the final stage before a caution came out that would have given us the Lucky Dog spot and put us back on the lead lap. We’ve got a good starting point for Wednesday night’s race and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can put together in our No. 37 Cottonelle Camaro ZL1 1LE.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016

Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2020 STATISTICS:
Wins: 1
Poles: 3
Laps Led: 733
Top-five finishes: 11
Top-10 finishes: 25

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 787 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 717
Laps led to date: 235,039
Top-five finishes to date: 4,025
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,307

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

General Motors: 1,121
Chevrolet: 787
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65

Ford: 790
Ford: 690
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59

Toyota: 145

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

The NASCAR Cup Series hits the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway for its second event in four days with a shorter, 310.6-mile event under the lights. After Chris Buescher’s top-10 finish in Sunday’s Coke 600, Jack Roush has 80 top-10 runs at the oval at CMS all-time, the fourth-most of any track on the circuit for the NASCAR Hall of Fame owner.

Charlotte Motor Speedway (1.5-Mile)
Alsco Uniforms 500

Wednesday, May 27, 2020 | 8 p.m. ET

FS1, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

·         Ryan Newman, No. 6 Roush Performance Ford Mustang
·         Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang

NASCAR Returns to Action

·         NASCAR continues its return to racing Wednesday with the fourth Cup Series event in a 10-day span as Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts its second consecutive race – this time a condensed, 310.6-mile shootout.
·         From Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 to Wednesday, cars will turn nearly 1000 miles this week alone as the series is slated for its eighth points race overall of 2020, and fourth in the return of the sport. Following Wednesday’s race, the NCS will then hit five different tracks from May 31 – June 21 in the remainder of the announced scheduled to date.
·         Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed.

Wednesday Recap, Sunday Preview

·         Ryan Newman appeared poised for a strong run in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, having powered his Roman Ford inside the top-10, before a faulty battery dropped the team off the pace just over halfway through the race.
·         Newman recorded a 10th-place finish in stage one, but with only four cautions over the final 150 laps, he was unable to gain all his laps back to settle for a 28th-place finish.
·         Buescher picked up three spots during a hectic final two-lap shootout to bring his Fifth Third Ford home 10th in the Coke 600. He and the 17 team overcame an early pit road penalty to record their second top-10 of 2020.

Invert Determines Starting Lineup for Wednesday

The NASCAR Cup Series held a qualifying session for Sunday’s Coke 600 – the first and only scheduled qualifying thus far in NASCAR’s return – as Newman qualified 18th with Buescher 19th. The top-20 invert is back for Wednesday’s race, with Buescher rolling off 11th after a 10th-place run. Newman will fire off 28th after his finish on Sunday.

Golden Sombrero

Roush Fenway won a record four-consecutive Coca-Cola 600’s from 1999-2002 with drivers Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin. During that span, Roush Fenway led 427 laps, including 201 of 400 laps in the 1999 event.

2006 Dominance in the Coca-Cola 600

Roush Fenway had its best overall outing in the Coca-Cola 600 in 2006, when its five entries averaged a 5.4 finish. Roush Fenway Fords finished third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth while leading 52 laps in the event. In 2002, Roush Fenway posted a one-two finish in the event with Martin and Kenseth battling feverishly for the win and combining to lead 67 laps in the race (with Martin taking the win).

Tale of the Tape

Roush Fenway has started 212 NCS races at Charlotte, recording eight total wins with 46 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. RFR Fords have an average finish of 16.3 with 2627 laps led all-time.

Roush Fenway Charlotte Wins
1992-2   Martin  Cup
1995-2   Martin  Cup
1998-2   Martin  Cup
1999-1   Burton  Cup
2000-1   Kenseth Cup
2001-1   Burton  Cup
2002-1   Martin  Cup
2011-2   Kenseth Cup
1993-2   Martin NXS
1995-2   Martin NXS
1996-1   Martin  NXS
1996-2   Martin  NXS
1998-1   Martin  NXS
1999-1   Martin  NXS
2000-1   Burton  NXS
2001-2   Biffle     NXS
2002-2   Burton                  NXS
2006-1   Edwards               NXS
2011-1   Kenseth               NXS
2011-2   Edwards               NXS
2011-2   Edwards               NXS
2015-1   Buescher             NXS

By the Numbers at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Race      Win       T5           T10         Pole       Laps       Led        AvSt      AvFn     Miles